COMMENT In the election of Donald Trump as the US president, we see how democracy and its institutions have both at once succeeded and failed.

This is because while democratic institutions seem to have alienated the middle- and lower-classes and failed to truly listen to them, know their problems and solve it, democratic elections also empowered the electorate to stick it to "The Man" so to speak.

It is a symptom that is prevalent in many parts of the world today as democratic governments struggle to cope with economic and social woes.

If the surprise result of the US presidential election showcased one thing, it is this failure of democratic systems to represent the people as it should, though it did in the end became an extension of the people's political will.

As the people used the very outlet open to them, the ballot, to punish those they think are responsible - the political establishment in general.

Ironically, the fact that the system is broken when it comes to representation, is underscored by the fact that it does work exceptionally well to allow the electorate to upend the system on its head.

This resulted in Trump pulling off what many describe as a stunning and unexpected win in the recently-concluded US presidential election, having trounced his Democrat opponent, everybody's darling and establishment favourite Hillary Clinton.

Trump's middle America appeal

Experts have pointed out that this was mainly due to Trump's ability to speak to the suffering common man and woman, and embody their fears of immigrants and foreigners stealing American wealth and jobs.

He was as rough as the blue collars, as quick to mouth expletives as a typical person on the street and as critical of the white-collar elite.

In other words he appealed to the demographics of middle America, most of whom suffered in the many crises that career politicians presided over, crises which the elite seem to be none the worse for, while leaving the middle- and lower-classes worse for wear.

A political outsider, he was able to distance himself from the system despite riding on the Republican ticket, a party that is of course, the other half of the American problem to begin with.

But they are not voting Republican perhaps, they were voting Trump.

Not only is he offering an alternative to the exasperated electorate to Democrat rule which many see as having failed to live up to the campaign promises of Barack Obama, he is also offering an alternative to the accepted mainstream system which many are up in arms against.

A vote for Trump was also a protest vote against the establishment, giving them the finger so to speak.

Something similar was seen recently in Britain when the majority voted for Brexit, as frustrated locals want less EU interference and the ejection of migrants from the Island Kingdom.

It was a free-for-all support buffet for right wing politics, both in Britain then and for Trump in the US.

It does not matter that the Brexit campaign doesn't account for what's next after losing the EU economic lifeline, or that Trump seems clueless about many aspects of governance, for most people they just want to stick it up to "The Man".

It is an emotional choice, not the considered big picture vote that many of us would like to think that voters make.

Democracy open to abuse

And as for maverick leaders like Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte and Trump getting into a bromance off the bat, that is just to be expected, after all the one rule of pariahs is that they stick together.

If history were to serve as mirror, we would do well to remember that Italy's Benito Mussolini, Spain’s Francisco Franco, Russia's Joseph Stalin and Germany's Adolf Hitler were all chummy during their time in power.

Though I guess while the international community might call them pariahs, they hold the mandate from their respective electorate or have seized it with enough support from the grassroots. It should be noted that many of them were initially democratically elected.

But make no mistake, as elected or not, they truly represent the anger and frustration of the populace against the establishment and the system, as well as perceived outside interference.

And all of them can claim that their power base is from nationalistic resurgence.

Something that Duterte has openly said and Trump campaigned for, and that which our very own Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and the Malay party Pertubuhan Kebangsaan Melayu Bersatu (Pekembar) that he leads, builds their very existence upon, and continue to harp on.

Therein lies the dichotomy of democracy, for while it is built on high-minded ideals but when you come down to it, it is all about popularity contests and who can better sway the emotions of the electorate.

No matter how high-minded some say democracy is, it is open to abuse, at times by those very same people who claim to be its champions and the people's divine representative. May God help us all.

HAZLAN ZAKARIA is a member of the Malaysiakini team.